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{{Infobox political party
{{Infobox political party
| name = Ustaše in Australia
| name = Ustaše in Australia

Revision as of 04:12, 11 November 2022

Ustaše in Australia
Local leadersFabijan Lovokovic
Srecko Rover
Anton Butkovic
Jure Maric
Ante Saric
Miroslav Varos
Rocque Romac (Osvald Toth)
Blaz Kraljevic
Nikola Stedul
Stjepan Kardum
Founded1950
BranchesCroatian Liberation Movement
Croatian Revolutionary Brotherhood
Croatian National Resistance
IdeologyCroatian irredentism[1][2]
Croatian ultranationalism[3]
Corporate statism[3]
Anti-Serb sentiment[4]
National Catholicism[5]
Political positionFar-right
ReligionRoman Catholicism
Colours  White   Blue   Red   Black
Slogan"Za dom spremni"[6]
("For the Homeland-Ready!")
Flags utilised


At the end of World War II in 1945, members of the fascist Croatian ultranationalist Ustaše regime from the collapsed Nazi puppet state of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) fled from the Balkan region to avoid imprisonment and execution at the hands of the Yugoslav Partisans. With the help of Western authorities, who now viewed the fiercely anti-communist stance of the Ustaše favourably in the emerging Cold War, thousands of members of the regime were allowed to migrate to other countries, including Australia.[7]

Despite the post-war Menzies government having the knowledge that the Ustaše were responsible for appalling acts of genocide against Serbs, Jews and Romani, they were allowed to obtain citizenship and establish themselves during the 1950s and 60s to fund and organise various terrorist activities within Australia and abroad with the aim of destabilising the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.[7]

After a crack-down on Ustaše activities in Australia after 1972, their involvement in large-scale violent acts mostly ceased. However, the continued strong infiltration of Ustaša ideology into the Croatian-Australian community assisted significantly to the creation of neo-Ustaše para-military units which were actively utilised in the Yugoslav region during Croatian War of Independence of the early 1990s. These units were responsible for some of the worst of mass killings of civilians during that conflict.[7]

Even with the realisation of an independent modern European Croatian nation which has collectively rejected and condemned neo-Ustaše fascist politics, the ultra far-right Ustaše ideology has been able to persist as a significant part of Croatian-Australian public society well into the 21st Century. Portraits of the Nazi puppet Ustaše leader Ante Pavelic, known as the Poglavnik, continue to be displayed and the Ustaše slogan "Za dom spremni" continues to be chanted with fascist salutes at social and sporting clubs and events in Australia.[8]

Background

The Ustaše (pronounced [ûstaʃe]) (singular: Ustaša) were formed in 1929 as a fascist Croatian ultranationalist group led by Ante Pavelic. The ideology of the movement was a blend of fascism, Roman Catholicism and Croatian ultranationalism which called for the creation of a racially "pure" Croatian state and promoted genocide against Serbs, Jews and Roma.[9]

Adolf Hitler meeting Ante Pavelić

During World War II, Adolf Hitler invaded Yugoslavia and the Nazi puppet state of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) was established. Pavelic was installed as the Poglavnik or Führer of this state and from 1941 to 1945, this Ustaše regime murdered hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Jews and Roma.[9]

With the German surrender, end of World War II, and the establishment of socialist Yugoslavia in 1945, the Ustaše movement, along with their state, totally collapsed. Many members of the Ustaše either fled to Italy or were captured, executed or massacred by the Yugoslav Partisans led by Josip Broz Tito. Some of the Ustaše who made it to the Italian displaced persons camps or who were placed under the protection of the Vatican were assisted by Allied authorities in their ability to migrate out of Europe to countries where their vehement anti-Communist stance was deemed to be a potential asset in Cold War geo-politics. This process was dubbed the Ratlines, and Australia became the destination for some of the escaped Ustaše members.[9]

Beginnings of Ustaše in Australia

People with Croatian heritage had been migrating to Australia since the late 1800s, and when the Ustaše came to power as a Nazi puppet state in 1941, local Croatian-Australian leaders publicly condemned Ante Pavelic and his fascists. However, as the Ustaše were permitted to enter Australia from the late 1940s, these voices were soon drowned out by the influx of these far-right Nazi collaborators, some of whom were responsible for war-time atrocities.[7][10]

In 1950, several notable Ustaše figures arrived in Australia as migrants. Amongst these were Djujo Krpan, Ljubomir Vuina, Fabijan Lovokovic and Srecko Rover. Krpan was an Ustaša police investigator who was involved in the killing of hundreds of people in the Lika region. ASIO was aware of this but due to his anti-communist credentials, he was given a favourable assessment and given Australian citizenship in 1955. Vuina was from Sarajevo were he became a colonel in the Crna Legija, a notorious death squad infamous for their massacres of Serb civilians and the mass deaths at concentration camps which were under their control. Vuina was a founder of the Adelaide Croatia Club in 1950 and Australian authorities estimated that by 1952, around 250 people that had been associated with the Ustaše were members at the club. ASIO later allowed Vuina to set up a newspaper and organise paramilitary training. Vuina obtained citizenship and moved to the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney were he died in 1999. He remained proud of his time in the Crna Legija.[7]

Lovokovic was an Ustaše Youth member who migrated to Sydney and re-established Spremnost, a major Ustaše newspaper that was run in the NDH. Lovokovic became a leader of the movement in Australia, establishing the Croatian Liberation Movement (HOP) Australian branch with Anton Butkovic in 1957. Ante Pavelic created the neo-Ustaše HOP from exile in Spain.[11][12]

Srecko Blaz Rover was a member of the Nazi Security Police in Sarajevo and led a mobile killing unit that went from village to village arresting and murdering people they judged as enemies. By the end of the war he was in the personal security service of Ante Pavelic. After the collapse of the NDH, he was captured by the Allies and utilised to lead and organise subversive attacks on the communist Partisans as part of the Krizari. Most of these missions were a failure and in 1947 Srecko was in displaced persons camps in Italy were he became a police officer of the ISO. In this role he was able to negotiate his migration to Austalia and probably organised for other Ustaše to migrate to this country.[7]

Once in Australia, Rover established himself in Melbourne where he helped form the Melbourne Croatia football club in 1953 and obtained citizenship in 1956. He established the Australian branch of the Croatian National Resistance (HNO) in 1957 which was the more militant post-war wing of the Ustaše that was led from Spain by the notorious Ustaše concentration camp commander Vjekoslav Luburic. Again the Australian authorities allowed the Ustase to organise and openly promote their ideology, even having a Ustase float in the 1955 Moomba parade.[7][12]

In 1961, the Croatian Revolutionary Brotherhood (HRB) was established in Australia by Friar Rocque Romac (aka Osvald Toth) and Srecko Rover. This group was an original Australian formation and was integral to the organisation of bombings and insurgent training camps that occurred in the years following.[12]

Organised terrorist activities in the 1960s

The roots laid down by the original Ustaše immigrants in the 1950s, together with the quiet encouragement of ASIO and the Liberal Party federal government, bore fruit in 1963 with the establishment of an Ustaše paramilitary training operation centred near Wodonga. The publication of photos of Croatian-Australian men training in military fatigues with Australian Army rifles caused of furore which the Liberal Party brushed off as a picnic. The true nature of this "picnic" was revealed a year later when a group of nine Croatian-Australian men of the HRB were captured by Yugoslav forces trying to conduct of covert operation trying to raise a rebellion in that country. Further Ustaše training camps were located in NSW and at Dimbulah, Atherton and Mackay in Far North Queensland.[10][12]

Within Australia during the mid 60s, violent Ustaše activities were also being conducted. Tomislav Lesic attempted to deliver a suitcase bomb to the Yugoslav consulate which prematurely exploded causing the loss of his lower legs and some of his sight. Other members tortured a woman, sent mail bombs and threatened the Melbourne Police station, while Ambroz Andric was placed on trial for bashing a Yugoslav, with Rover supporting him in court wearing his Ustaše Gestapo badge.[12]

Various other bombings occurred in 1967 including the bombings of the Yugoslav consulate, a Yugoslav Association building and an attack involving a pen-bomb which resulted in the disfigurement of a boy's face.[12]

Increased extremism in the early 1970s

From 1969 to 1972, the operations of the Ustaše increased dramatically both in their number and in their violence. A total of around 60 attacks were attributed to the Ustaše movement in Australia during this time period and, as in the past, the authorities were still unable or unwilling to halt them. There was an attempt to burn down the Yugoslav consulate, a mother and daughter injured by a bombing, racketeering used to intimidate Serbs and fund operations, another three bombings of the consulate, bombing of a church and the USSR consulate was also bombed.[12]

In 1972 in particular, there were three major Ustaše activities which resulted in the Australian authorities finally taking a stand against the terrorist attacks.[12]

The Bugojno Incident

It was revealed by Yugoslavian authorities that a band of 19 armed men of Croatian background had been intercepted trying to conduct violent subversive activities. Their plans were to blow up bridges and government buildings and try to incite a rebellion in Yugoslavia. Of the 19 men, six were Australian citizens and a further 3 had lived in Australia. Brothers, Adolf and Ambroz Andric and four others were in killed in action, while three, Djuro Horvat, Bejil Keskic and Mirko Vlasnovic, were executed after a later trial. This incident created a significant controversy, especially after a training camp was concurrently discovered in the Warburton Ranges organised by Ivan Mudrinic.[12]

George St Bombings

In September, a Yugoslavian travel agency was bombed during the busy morning period in George Street in central Sydney . Two co-ordinated blasts injured 16 people, 2 seriously, most of whom were bystanders in the busy street outside the agency. Tomislav Lesic, who was involved in previous operations, was found at the bomb site with his artificial legs damaged by the blasts. This bombing shocked the nation in the way that it was planned to inflict casualties on the general public.[12]

Killing of an American tourist

In Brisbane an American tourist was killed in a bombing attack. This coincided with other bombings in Queensland including that of the Dimbulah Bridge.[7]

Despite the magnitude of these and other attacks within only a number of months of each other, the Liberal Party government still continued to obfuscate on assisting police investigations on discovering and making public the organisers of these terrorist activities. The Liberal Party Attorney-General, Ivor Greenwood, in particular hampering the process, denying even the existence of the Ustaše. Related to this was the fact that the Ustaše leader, Fabijan Lovokovic, was by this stage a highly influential Liberal Party member in William MacMahon's electorate, who was on the party's NSW Migrant Advisory Council with other WW2 war criminals such as Ljenko Urbancic.[12][7]

Crackdown on Ustase under the Whitlam and Fraser governments

In late 1972, the Whitlam government came to power in Australia and immediately a large number of raids were conducted on known Ustase organisers and sympathesisers. Major figures were arrested and a significant amount of bomb-making materials were confiscated. A major plan to train another 109 insurgents in Australia and send them into Yugoslavia was disrupted. This plan was organised by Srecko Rover in conjuction with the high level Ustase leader Dinko Sakic who was exiled in Spain. Sakic was a close relation of "Maks" Luburic and was also a notorious concentration camp commander in WW2.[12][11]

Depsite the success of these raids, ASIO still refused to co-operate in providing information and evidence to enable prosecution for the terrorist activities. In 1973, frustrated by ASIO's unwillingness to assist and concerned about a possible assassination attempt on Gough Whitlam by the Ustase, the new Attorney- General, Lionel Murphy, took matters into his own hands and commandeered documents from the ASIO offices himself and made public the information accumulated by ASIO on the Ustase in Australia. This incident was later named the Murphy raids and caused a major political fracas that harmed the Whitlam government's reputation on their ability to withhold confidential Cold War information.[12]

However, the raids were effective in that they caused a siginificant curtailment in Ustase activity in Australia. Other measurses such as the threat to halt Yugoslav immigration, the cancellation of Srecko Rover's passport and legislation being passed to criminalise fighting for foreign organisations, placed further pressure on limiting Ustase activity.[12]

This pressure was continued under the Fraser government where 19 HRB members led by Jure Maric were arrested at an Ustase para-military training camp at Mount Imlay in NSW in 1978. Several members were jailed with Maric receiving a four year sentence under the Commonwealth Crimes act. In the early 80s another trial of five Croatian-Australians, members of the HRS, were arrested and convicted of crimes including attempting to bomb Sydney's water supply, destroy Yugoslav travel agencies and assassinate Lovokovic whom they viewed as a traitor to the Ustase movement. They were betrayed by a probable Yugoslav double agent and received sentences of 15 years jail.

Ustase sympathisers in Australia had to adapt to this new era and attempted to soften their appearance by creating new "moderate" neo-Ustaše organisations such as the Croatian Republican Party (HRS) and HDP led by Nikola Stedul. Stedul survived an assassination attempt in Scotland in 1988 where he was shot 8 times by a Yugoslav agent.

Role in the Croatian War of Independence

The collapse of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia in the early 90s gave hope to many Croatian-Australians that a truly independent Croatian nation would be formed. It also gave the organisational ability of Ustase ideologues in Australian society much increased impetus. Significant funding was raised by people such as Stjepan Kardum the leader of the Sydney Branch of the neo-Ustasa group called the Party of Rights. This money was funnelled into the formation of ultra-nationalistic paramilitary units called the Croatian Defence Forces (HOS) that fought in the Croatian War of Independence. These units operated separate from the control of the regular Croatian Armed Forces and were involved in some of the worst civilian mass killings of that conflict. It is estimated that around 200 Croatian-Australians fought in these paramilitary units.[7]

The Croatian Defence Forces (HOS) was led by Croatian-Australian Blaz Kraljevic who was a member of Srecko Rover's HRB. Kraljevic was given the rank of Major General and carried out systematic war crimes and "ethnic cleansing" during the war. The HOS were considered dangerous to the aims and the stability of the newly created modern Croatia to the point where Kraljevic was assassinated by Croatian forces. Croatian-Australians also fought under Željko Glasnović and compared their unit with the 369th Ustase Division who fought with the Nazis in Stalingrad.[7][13]

Role in 21st century Croatian-Australian society

With the establishment of the modern state of Croatia, the neo-Ustasa have been consigned to the far-right fringe. Their main political group, the Party of Rights, is unpopular and Croatian ministers regularly condemn the fascist legacy of neo-Ustase elements such as the HOS veterans groups. Zoran Milanovic, the first prime minister of an independent Croatia to ever come to Australia, was shunned by much of the Australian Croatian community on a visit in 2014 due to his anti-fascist policies such as making the Za Dom Spremni chant illegal.[14]

In Australia, Croatian social and sporting clubs continue to display busts and portraits of Ante Pavelic and support for HOS is also widely expressed. The 10th of April 1941 anniversary of the establishment of the Nazi puppet state of the HNS is publicly celebrated often with the active involvement of members of the Liberal Party of Australia. Recent high-ranking Liberal Party identities such as Helen Coonan, and Craig Kelly have continued the Liberal Party tradition of helping neo-Ustase celebrate the 10th of April that has seen past members such as Billy MacMahon, David Clarke, W.C. Wentworth, Eric Willis and Peter Coleman also partaking in ceremonies glorifying Ante Pavelic. The more recent episode involving Craig Kelly resulted in a diplomatic rift with the Croatian embassy which condemned the celebration of the anniversary of the Nazi puppet-state.[15]

In 2013, Croatian-Australian footballer Josip Simunic was given a 10 match ban by FIFA and blocked from competing in the World Cup for leading the fascist Za Dom Spremni chant with Croatian football fans after a qualifying game.[16] Simunic was also fined by Croatian legal authorities, but in Australia his actions were defended by the head of the Canberra Croatia Club.[17]

2022 Australia Cup Final

Since the 1950s, Croatian-Australians have been instrumental in the success of developing football in Australia with many Croatian-Australian footballers, coaches and managers making important contributions to the success of domestic league clubs and the Australian national team. However, many famous Croatian-Australian clubs also have links to the Ustase. For example, Melbourne Croatia was founded in 1953 with the involvement of the Ustase officer Srecko Rover who was involved in mass killings in the NDH and was a leader of the HNO in Australia. Croatian-Australian football clubs in the modern age continue to overtly display Ustase symbolism and use Ustase flags.[8][18][7]

During the 2022 Australia Cup Final that featured Sydney United, the main Croatian-Australian team in NSW, footage showed hundreds of Sydney United fans participating in the Ustase Za Dom Spremni chant while giving fascist salutes. Many Ustase and HOS flags were proudly displayed and the Welcome to Country presented by a local Indigenous leader was interrupted and booed.[19][20]

These actions were condemned in the wider Australia community, however criticism from the Croat-Australian community was very limited. A well-known Croatian-Australian who made a public statement saying that the actions were "embarrassing" was quickly told on social media to be silent by another prominent Croatian-Australian in the football community. In a response reminiscent of the pandering to the Ustase in 1950s Australia, Football Australia chose not to even mention the Ustase, but banned just two Sydney United fans and fined the club $15,000. Amidst calls for the club to lose its licence, Football Australia advised the Sydney United club that they must do some education courses and volunteer work in the next few years.[21][22]

References

  1. ^ Meier, Viktor (23 July 1999). Yugoslavia: a history of its demise. Psychology Press. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-415-18595-0. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
  2. ^ Lampe, John; Mazower, Mark (2006). Ideologies and National Identities. Central European University Press. ISBN 9789639241824.
  3. ^ a b Yeomans, Rory (2012). Visions of Annihilation: The Ustasha Regime and the Cultural Politics of Fascism, 1941–1945. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 978-0-82297-793-3.
  4. ^ Tomasevich, Jozo (2002). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: Occupation and Collaboration. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0804736152.
  5. ^ John R. Lampe (2004). Ideologies and National Identities: The Case of Twentieth-Century Southeastern Europe. Central European University Press. p. 102. ISBN 978-963-9241-82-4.
  6. ^ 'Za dom spremni' je isto što i 'Sieg Heil'!, Danas.hr 09.01.2012.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Aarons, Mark (2020). War Criminals Welcome: Australia, a sanctuary for fugitive war criminals since 1945. Melbourne: Black Inc. ISBN 9781743821633.
  8. ^ a b Starcevic, Seb (10 September 2019). "In Australia, Some Croats Openly Celebrate Fascism". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  9. ^ a b c McCormick, Robert (2014). Croatia Under Ante Pavelic. London: I.B Tauris. ISBN 9781788310871.
  10. ^ a b Tokic, Mate (2020). Croatian Radical Separatism and Diaspora Terrorism During the Cold War. West Lafayette: Perdue University Press. ISBN 9781557538925.
  11. ^ a b "Yugoslav Emigre Extremists" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency Foreign Assessment Centre. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Campion, Kristy (2018). "The Ustaša in Australia: A Review of Right-Wing Ustaša Terrorism from 1963-1973, and Factors that Enable their Endurance" (PDF). Salus. 6 (2): 37–58. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  13. ^ Sabljak, Zoran (3 November 2021). "Interview with Australia's Krešimir Malić recently elected President of the Association of Foreign Volunteers of the Homeland War". Croatia Week. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Croatian community passions inflamed by PM's visit". SBS News. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  15. ^ Kukolja, Kristina (22 April 2014). "Croatia summons Australian ambassador over MP's speech". SBS News. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  16. ^ "Croatia's Josip Simunic hit with 10-match ban and will miss World Cup". The Guardian Australia. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  17. ^ Gaskin, Lee (23 November 2013). "Josip Simunic 'thanking fans' with pro-Nazi chant". Canberra Times. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  18. ^ "On the 10th of April 1953". facebook. Melbourne Knights. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  19. ^ "CROATIAN Sydney United 58 FC On Fire "Za Dom, Spremni" during Australian Cup FINAL!". YouTube. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  20. ^ "Australian soccer club fined after fans make Nazi salutes at match". Times of Israel. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  21. ^ "Sydney United sanctioned by Football Australia for 'deeply offensive' fan behaviour". The Guardian Australia. Australian Associated Press. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  22. ^ Young, Chris (3 October 2022). "Lucy Zelic speaks out over 'embarrassing' scenes at Australia Cup final". Yahoo Sport Australia. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
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